Data Central

2011-2012 Summary Annual Report: Training

Highlights

Held two SRTS National Course Instructor trainings and trained 25 new instructors. Currently 243 professionals have participated in a SRTS National Course Instructor Training.

Forty-one states have requested and received at least one free training.

Twenty-eight states have requested and received a second free training (made available starting in 2008).

Provided ten National Courses to communities at a subsidized cost.

Held thirteen webinars for SRTS practitioners with subcontractor America Walks.

The National Center for Safe Routes to School offers a variety of training opportunities to fit the needs of multiple audiences. The following education options help build capacity and sustainability of the federal Safe Routes to School program:

Free and Subsidized Training

The National Center strives to make in-person training accessible to diverse audiences. The Safe Routes to School National Course, the SRTS National Course Instructor Training, and a Walking School Bus Training are primary tools in spreading the word about Safe Routes to School and preparing leaders to sustain the federal program in the long term. The National Center offers two free trainings to every state program, provides the SRTS National Course and the National Course Instructor Training at a subsidized cost, and provides need-based scholarships for the instructor training.

Forty-one states have requested and received at least one free training.

Twenty-eight states have requested and received a second free training (made available starting in 2008).

Waived training fees for 10 participants who were either FHWA representatives or local hosts of the training.

Ten National Courses were provided to communities at a subsidized cost.

In addition to training delivery, the National Center made several updates to the SRTS National Course materials and offered the updated materials to participants of all past instructor trainings. The primary focus of the update was to incorporate current research and statistics on school travel. The National Center hosted a webinar to brief instructors about the course changes.

Instructor Training

As of June 2012, 243 professionals throughout the U.S. have participated in a Safe Routes to School National Course Instructor Training. In turn, these trainers teach others how to implement SRTS and, in the process, train new leaders.

During this reporting period the National Center held two instructor trainings – one in Yakima, WA, and one in Sterling, VA – training a total of 25 new instructors, including three FHWA staff.

Web-based Education

To provide even more access to SRTS expertise, the National Center provides web-based education. During this reporting period, the National Center:

Continued to offer a web-based version of the Skills for Local SRTS Development training.

Continued to collaborate with America Walks to produce free SRTS Webinars. This webinar series is designed to introduce SRTS to new audiences and to increase skills for current SRTS leaders. The following webinars were held during the reporting period:

Promoting and Selling SRTS: National Resources to Give You a Head Start (197 participants) - July 2011.

Reaching Out to Students Who Live Too Far to Walk or Bike: Including Bus Riders and Improving Bus Stop Safety (250 participants) - August 2011.

Evaluation efforts start here.

Local programs can send their Parent Surveys and Student Travel Tallies to the National Center for data entry. Processing requires approximately 4-6 weeks, but it can take up to 8 weeks depending on the volume of data in the queue.